Cherry Blossoms
by astridelta
Summary: My little tribute to Sakura, deathfic rated T for coarse language and slight gore/violence. Two-shot; first chapter is Sakura POV, second switches between Sasuke and Naruto respectively.
1. The Death of Sakura Haruno

So...I've never written a true "Sakura" story before. I've always written SasuNaru and maybe thrown her in here or there, but never focused something on _her_ character. I've always imagined Sakura to be that girl who puts up one appearance when she is truly feeling something the exact opposite. She strikes me as much more..."human", than any other character in the Narutoverse. Here's some reasons why...

1.) She's not from an overpowered shinobi clan, with special blood-line techniques

2.) She doesn't get powerups every other chapter *cough*Naruto*cough*

3.) I don't mean to offend anyone who likes Hinata, but at least Sakura is more open with her affection for Sasuke (even though it is...annoying at times), and as I stated before, she isn't from a special blood-line. She poured everything she had into her work.

4.) Her character is easily relatable to many of the female fanbase believe it or not. Come on, admit it. How many of us would be able to withstand the emotional distraught of watching your village or home, whatever, crumble to the ground around you or having the love of your life try to kill you?

And finally, 5.) I dislike all of the hate on her. Yeah, she can be annoying, a bitch even, and she does cry a lot, but she is the most "human" person in the entire series and as such she dererves some respect and recgonition for her development over time. I mean, I hate it so much when the majority of the fanbase slams her for various reasons I don't feel like listing.

So without further adue, here's my Sakura tribute!

* * *

Haruno Sakura was not your typical sixteen year old.

She didn't straighten her hair or wear makeup. She didn't sneak out late at night against her parent's permission to go to her boyfriend's house. Hell, she didn't have a boyfriend. She, instead, chopped her hair short so it didn't interfer with her missions. She stayed out late at night at the hospital, nursing the wounds of the crippled and aiding surgeries. She was a medic-nin.

She also detested the fact that she was a medic-nin.

Medics were never found on the front lines of battle. They were at the back. They rarely fought or saw action. They were the last to die in a fight, constantly dependent on their teammates for protection from the enemy. She loathed that. She hated being weak, seemingly useless until a wounded shinobi came along for her to treat. It was a rare occurrence for Sakura to appear on the battlefield, and even then it was maybe to retrieve a fallen comrade or provide support in a fight.

At least, that's what it seemed like, until now...

* * *

The screams of the dying hung heavy in the air, the iron-like scent of blood filling Sakura's nose as she ran. The only thing she could see was _him_, his form twisting like a leaf in the air, falling to the ground. Falling, falling, never to get up again. This wasn't possible, she wanted so desperately to believe. He couldn't, he couldn't possibly...his name built up in her throat, waiting to burst from her lips in a horrified scream, but no sound could escape her in her horror.

Blades and jutsus flew around her, paper-bombs exploding and shrapnel pelting her exposed skin as she saw his back collide with the hard ground. She could hear the slight exhale of air come from his lips and the groan that followed. She saw the blood pouring from his chest and from his head. But she couldn't say anything. Her run was brought to a halt as a shinobi clad in black jumped into her path, gripping a kunai in his hand as he stared at her. Her emerald eyes flicked briefly to the weapon and she noticed it was coated in a light purple liquid. Poison.

Her eyes narrowed and a snarl curled her lips into a ferocious grimace as she poured her chakra into her right hand, running forward. She managed to find her mouth in the numb cavern of her mind as she shouted, "Get out of my way!" before she slammed her fist into the man's chest, sending him flying through the air, over _his_ body and crashing to the earth, unmoving.

She continued sprinting.

Sakura saw a flash of blue and white out of the corner of her eye and saw _his_ best friend fighting three opponents at once. A gash at the top of his forehead was pouring blood into his eyes but he continued fighting. His right arm hung useless by his side as he held three shruiken in his left, flinging them with precise aim at the enemies. A cut on his right calf had sliced through his clothing and flesh, exposing the red muscle and the dull white bone lying under his skin. His eyes connected with Sakura's panicked gaze.

She tore her eyes away and focused on _him_ again. He wasn't moving. He wasn't breathing. Another scream built in her throat but she quickly choked it off. She didn't want anyone else attacking her, or _him_...

She managed to skid to a halt at his side and fell to her knees, dust billowing as she landed. Her right hand flashed out and gently laid on his cheek, turning his head upward to face her slowly. His eyes were closed, his skin oddly cold and losing color...Sakura's eyes widened before she turned them to assess the damage that had fallen him. A slash ran from his right shoulder down to his left hip, exposing his lungs and his ribs, pulsing a faint red as his blood vessels tried to keep the blood that supported his organs flowing, killing him as the crimson instead pooled into the ground below him.

"No," Sakura whispered.

Her hands flew to his chest and she began to do what she was trained to; heal.

With the detached air that a medic was meant to possess, Sakura began to analyze the wound and list all of the arteries and organs she would heal, what to avoid. She couldn't afford to feel the pain of knowing who she was trying to save, who she could potentially fail in saving. But that calm mask broke, like shattering porcelain, when his eyes opened and a soft groan tumbled from his mouth.

Concentration broken, her chakra wavered as her own gaze darted to his. Blue connected with green, and Naruto smiled up at Sakura with a knowing gaze.

Sakura couldn't breathe. She could see his lips moving but she couldn't hear the words coming from his throat as her chakra flowed harder out of her. She could sense his heart failing and could sense the Kyuubi's pulsing, trying to heal the fatal wound only to have it rip open again, skin tearing apart again and again, caused by whatever evil poison that now coated Naruto's flesh.

Someone was behind her, but Sakura did not care to see if it was friend or foe. Naruto was dying, he was dying and she had to do _something!_

_"I'll bring Sasuke back. It's a promise!"_

Sakura looked up and saw the last remaining Uchiha kneeling across from her, staring at Naruto's face.

The gash in his forehead had ceased bleeding, but his right arm was charred, blackened by whatever fire had consumed it. His onyx eyes, having been so dull...so empty since his return to Konoha, were now filled with a panic that she hadn't thought him capable of. Sakura grit her teeth and pushed her chakra to the limit, trying to tell the demon that resided inside of Naruto without words that she was trying to _help_. Her energy wasn't being received by Naruto's body...!

Someone whispered, and the heartbeat under Sakura's hand slowly faded to stillness.

Sakura could have sworn the world had ceased spinning. The battle around her faded to a dull roar as her eyes went to Naruto's face, hoping, _praying_ that what she felt was just a figment of her imagination. Naruto's lips were upturned into a small smile, ever so slightly that it was barely noticeable to her. His eyes were closed. Pouring all of her chakra to her right hand, Sakura held her left up to the blonde's nose to test if he was breathing. No air came from him..

Her eyes switched to Sasuke and she saw him staring at her...glaring...Condemning her.

She returned her focus back to the wound beneath her. Perhaps, if she could just start his heart again, she could still save him...

* * *

Hours passed, and not a sign of life could be found in Naruto.

Sakura refused to give up, kneeling next to her teammate long after the battle had ended and the sun had sunk over the horizon, with only the light of the moon and the green flow of her chakra to illuminate her work. Naruto's skin had grown paler, and the blood had stopped flowing, caking into a disgustingly black hue and hardening slowly over time as she continued to try and knit together the muscle and vessels that had been ripped to shreds.

Sasuke had not left Naruto's side either, simply staring at the blonde's face, his expression unreadable...

A hand brushed softly on Sakura's shoulder, and that was when she knew it was over.

The hand slowly tugged her stiff form back and she stumbled, falling backwards as her chakra stopped. Her eyes remained trained on Naruto's closed eyes as she was forced to stand by whoever was behind her, hands under her arms supporting her limp weight. She couldn't breathe. Her lungs felt like they were about to burst, her eyes were burning...she was turned to face away from Naruto and saw Sai staring at her in return. The boy's face was marred with cuts and scratches, and his left eye had a darkened ring of skin around it.

Sakura saw his mouth moving and could tell, without hearing, what he was saying.

_"It's not your fault."_

Sakura winced and ripped her shoulder out of Sai's grip, seeing Ino and Shikamaru approaching them from behind the boy's back. Ino's blue eyes widened as she quickened her pace to a jog, and Shikamaru's back stiffened until they were beside Sakura, staring down at Naruto's body. Ino let out a small wail before turning, burying her face in Shikamaru's shoulder. The Jonin in turn slowly placed his hand on the blonde's back, as if he were unsure of his actions.

Sakura turned again with Sai at her back and saw that Sasuke was kneeling in front of Naruto, staring blankly at the blonde's lifeless features before he reached out and brought his arms under Naruto's body. His wounded arm seemed to be forgotten as he lifted Naruto and stood, cradling the body close to his chest. His eyes left Naruto's face and drifted to Sakura's, and Sakura saw the accusations in those black irises, the unspoken blame that was being placed on her for his death.

_This is your fault._

* * *

A week had passed.

Sakura laid on her side, staring across her bedroom at the calendar that was hanging on one nail by her door. A week since Naruto...Sakura refused to think of that. Her hair, once shiny and straight, was now in tangles and mats on her head as she laid on her side, her right arm curled under her head and her left dangling off of the edge of the bed. Blankets laid over her exposed back and legs, yet a shiver ran through her small frame as she exhaled, her breath shaking.

Her dull green eyes closed, darkness shielding her for a moment before the distant sound of someone knocking on wood had her looking at her bedroom door. "...Sakura, dear...are you alright?" Sakura didn't respond to her mother's question. A slight click sounded, the doorknob turned, and her mother then poked her head through the gap she had left by opening the door. "Oh, Sakura..." her mother whispered, stepping further into the room.

Sakura winced when she saw her mother dressed in the customary black attire of mourning.

Her mother's eyes stared at her sympathetically, yet she seemed to not dare step further into the room as Sakura lowered her gaze to the blue rug on the floor. "Dear...the ceremony starts in a few hours...shouldn't you be getting ready?" Sakura didn't move. "Sakura-"

"I'm not going."

Sakura heard her voice interrupt her mother's, cracking from disuse as her throat began to itch. Her mother's eyes widened slightly, before her expression became soft. "Sakura...honey, he was your teammate..you should go pay your respects..." her mother trailed off when Sakura showed no sign of responding. Sakura blinked when her mother turned towards the door.

"The Uchiha boy on your team...he's keeping vigil for three days. A clan tradition, I heard...perhaps you can go on your own time. I guess...going with the entire village won't be healthy after all.."

Sakura winced at the mention of Sasuke. In her head, she saw his accusing glare as he held Naruto, limp and lifeless, in his arms...

"Please close the door on your way out, Mom," Sakura whispered.

She didn't bother to look up as she heard the soft shutting in front of her.

* * *

Gray clouds rolled outside Sakura's window as she stared at the sky. She could hear the people outside of her home, the quiet murmurs that seemed so displaced in a place such as Konoha. A place meant to be vibrant and loud, just like _him_. Sakura swallowed painfully as she thought of...Naruto.

A small, electronic tick behind her sounded, breaking her from the nearly unavoidable emotional breakdown. She rolled to her right, twisting further into her blankets that did nothing to shield her from the coldness inside of her, emerald eyes landing on the alarm clock on the small table at the head of her bed. The neon green print on the black face read that is was quarter till eleven.

Sakura stared at the numbers, numbly noticing the small aloe plant behind the clock, along with the picture frame next to the potted foliage. The picture of Team Seven was mostly visible, except for the aloe leaf that draped in front of Naruto's image, blocking him out. Sakura's eyes trailed over to her desk, where she saw a small pile of black cloth sitting on the wooden chair. She assumed her mother must have brought it in while she had slept.

Almost as if it were an unconscious choice, Sakura's body slowly lifted up, discarding the red and white blankets from her body as she sat on the edge of her bed, still staring at the black mound on her desk chair, across the room. She stood uneasily, black dots swimming across her vision as her legs shook, attempting to bear her weight. Shuffling, she made her way across the cold wooden floorboards to her desk, before finally she stood before her chair.

Eying the pile of black in front of her, Sakura stood still as she continued to blankly stare at the seat of her chair. Then, as if she were forcing her trembling arm to move, she reached down and gently held the black cloth in her hand. A simple, black tee-shirt fell from her grasp and onto the floor, crumpling into a small pile while she continued to hold the pair of black slacks in her hand.

She bent down, retrieving the shirt, staring at each article of clothing in her hands as if she expected them to jump from her grasp. Her emerald eyes roamed over the shirt and slacks, minutes ticking by as she stood still, her gaze devoid of emotion. However, Sakura eventually brought the shirt up over her head, bringing it over her torso and covering the white tank-top she wore, then sliding her legs into the black pants, covering her red shorts.

She then, almost forcing herself, turned to her bedroom door, thus facing the full-length oval mirror set on the right of the wooden frame. Her eyes roamed over her disheveled form blankly, taking in her knotted hair, the black rings under her eyes, which had a haunted look to them. Her skin, normally a healthy pale hue, was almost chalky in complexion. If she didn't know any better, she would have thought she were a spirit.

Bringing her hands up to her head, Sakura futilely attempted to smooth out the snarls and the tangles in her shoulder-length rosette hair before letting her arms flop to her sides.

_It's your fault._

Sakura shook her head before shuffling to her bedroom door, placing her left hand on the dim gold handle and releasing a shaking breath, closing her eyes as she turned the knob and pulled the door inwards. The hallway in front of her was dim; scanning the space, she noticed her usual shinobi heels just outside her room, propped against the wall. No sound came from downstairs, nor her parents' bedroom; they were asleep.

Exiting her room was almost physically painful. Her breath hitched and her vision grew blurry as she shut the door behind herself, bending down to slide her sandals onto her feet before stumbling down the hall, trying to find the stairwell. She nearly fell down four stair-steps before she regained her composure, leveling her stance and clearing her eyes as she stared at the front door. Breathing deeply, Sakura strode slowly forward, before opening her front door and feeling a warm summer breeze brush across her cheeks.

Emerald eyes roaming, she saw no-one on the road in front of her. The entire street, deserted, as she turned her head to the left and right, checking for civilians who would comment on her haggard appearance, attempt to question her. Try to find out what had happened to their hero. Sakura grit her teeth as she nearly stomped away from her home. There was no turning back now; she _had_ to do this. At least once, she had to see _him_, before he was gone forever...

Her legs seemed to move on their own as she roamed the silent streets of Konoha. The lights of the buildings around her were either dimmed or entirely off, creating a solemn air that chilled Sakura to the bone. The breeze slowly picked up to a howling wind, shrieking in her ears as she wrapped her arms around her torso, hunching over and keeping her eyes on the red roof that spired above the rest of the buildings in Konoha; Hokage Tower.

The road she stumbled on gradually widened until it connected with two other paths coming in from the left and the right, all three conjoining around a large, open area directly in front of the massive Tower. Bouquets of flowers were stacked atop each other, lining the perimeter of the circle, while lit and unlit candles alike seemed to form a path up to the black box in the center of the clearing.

Sakura's vision grew blurry once more as the wind rushed against her, drying her eyes, which then tried to wet themselves only to be irritated by the air once more. She tightened her arms around herself as she shivered despite the dense, warm summer air as she forced herself to move forward, assuring herself that it was okay. That _she_ was okay. Her gaze remained locked on the black box in front of her. The wood seemed to glow in the dim light of the candles, and as she approached, her mind finally registered that the box was, in actuality, a coffin.

And inside that coffin, she saw the corpse that haunted her waking and sleeping thoughts.

Naruto's eyes were closed, just as Sakura last remembered. His skin was not as pale; most likely due to some sort of makeup or jutsu. The cuts and scratches on his face were gone, leaving only the mysterious scars on his cheeks. His head rested on a white pillow, largely blocked from view from his spiked blonde hair. He wore a black, button-up shirt with a white collar poking up from between the folds, his collarbone slightly visible. A white blanket shielded the rest of his body from view.

Sakura froze, a few feet from the coffin, as she stared at Naruto's unmoving form. She felt like laughing in that moment; a part of her hoped this was a nightmare, or some sort of prank, maybe. Naruto liked pranks. Perhaps this was one of his most convincing ones. He should have been leaping from that coffin, laughing. He should have been making fun of Sakura for believing he was dead.

A tear rolled down her cheek when she knew that wasn't the case.

Her eyes remained fixed on the coffin, her unwavering stare not noticing the shadowed figure standing at the head of the box, watching her. They both stood still for some time, Sakura meanwhile not noticing until the figure shifted, coming out of the shadows and stepping in front of the coffin. Her eyes widened as Sasuke's locked with hers.

Deep purple and black rings lined the underparts of his eyes. His skin seemed to hang off of his body like melted wax, barely clinging to his frame. A white, long-sleeved shirt looked as though he had slept in it for days; wrinkled, with dirt and seemingly blood smeared on the bottom edges of the shirt. He, like Sakura, wore black slacks, accompanied by shinobi sandals of the same color. His hair was in disarray as well; the typical soft spikes his hair formed at the back of his head were much more tousled and messy than usual.

Neither moved as they stared at each other. Sakura's gaze was transfixed on Sasuke's. All the while, she could almost hear the words Sasuke was obviously keeping himself from saying. The raven's jaw was clenching and unclenching as the thin line of his lips shifted by mere millimeters. The breeze brushed through her hair, which tickled the sides of her face as she broke her gaze from Sasuke and stared at the ground.

Her mouth opened slightly, and she found herself going over in her head what she planned to say. What she had been rehearsing to herself the entire trip here. What she planned to say to Sasuke, to try and compensate for her failure, to him as well as to herself. But when the moment was finally here, she found her mind drawing blank and the emotions she had held back breaking through her defenses like water from a dam. With her legs giving out, she crumpled to the ground and brought her hands to her face, warm tears stinging her skin.

"...I'm sorry," Sakura whispered, a sob causing her voice to crack. "I'm...I'm sorry! I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." A short wail came from her lips before she clenched her teeth, groaning as she bit her tongue to hold back the shriek building in her throat. She heard nothing from Sasuke as she rocked on her knees, back and forth, digging her fingernails into her forehead. Then, through the blood pounding in her ears, she distantly heard footsteps approaching her.

The sound of bone cracking softly had her bringing her hands down from her face, her palms quickly growing cold as the wind blew over the dampness of her cheeks and hands, staring at Sasuke. He was kneeling in front of her, his face devoid of emotion. But his eyes...were different. His eyebrows were drawn close in a glare, his black irises almost blazing with anger and pain and sorrow; Sakura found herself choking back another sob at the sight of how broken Sasuke truly was.

The raven seemed to study her for a few moments before standing, turning his back on her. He stood there, facing Naruto's coffin, with nothing but the Uchiha fan embroidered on the back of his shirt facing Sakura. Until...

"Crying is not becoming of a shinobi."

Sakura sucked in a breath as she stared up at the back of Sasuke's head. He still did not move as he spoke once more. "And it won't make me forgive you, either." Then he stalked away, fading back into the shadows next to Naruto's body, leaving Sakura kneeling in the waving grass. She knew he was still there, however. His chakra was strong enough, vile enough, that it made her sick to her stomach to sense it. Yet she managed to stagger to her feet, shaking and whimpering under her breath as she wiped tears from her face and eyes.

She didn't approach the coffin any further; instead, she turned and shuffled back the way she came, her throat tight with the wails of grief she was holding back.

* * *

The next morning came as Sakura sat on her mattress. The black mourning clothes still hung on her body, which sat amongst scattered mounds of scrolls and books. Her tired eyes roamed over the kanji strewn in front of her, yellowed parchment blending with black ink lettering as she scanned for a very particular jutsu...one she had seen preformed once before, and one she had hoped she would never have to see again.

The transmigration jutsu.

She remembered it well; Lady Chiyo had explained it over the duration of the mission to rescue Kazekage Gaara from the Akatsuki. She had even watched Lady Chiyo preform it on Gaara. She had held Lady Chiyo's body once the Kazekage was brought back to life at the expense of her own.

Sakura knew very well the consequences of the technique. In exchange for renewing life, she was giving up her own. She was surprised at one small fact: she wasn't scared. She knew what she was doing, all she had to do was mold her chakra precisely and focus it all into her target's system. In this case, the deceased body of Naruto Uzumaki. She was thankful that Lady Tsunade had cast a body-preserving jutsu over the corpse for Sasuke's vigil; without that, she wasn't sure she could succeed with this.

She released a shaky breath as she rolled up a scroll and tossed it to the edge of her bed before reaching out, grasping a brown leather book in her hand and bringing it to her lap, flipping open the cover and scanning the pages, noting the anatomy described and distantly reading the words. However, her mind was somewhere else.

She had to plan this well. She knew that, after last night's encounter, Sasuke wouldn't let her near Naruto's body long enough for her to preform the jutsu. She would have to do it at night, so no-one could interfere before the technique was complete. And, the simple fact that this was her death. She would cease existing after this was over. That, Sakura thought, was the hardest thing for her to get over.

Her life was about to end so Naruto's could continue.

Three years ago, would she have given up her life for him? Definitely not. She would have laughed at the idea, even. But now? She was doing this without any hesitation. And that should have scared her...yet it didn't. With a small sigh, she set the book aside and turned her head to the left, looking out her window at the world outside. In less than a day, she would disappear from it. Her parents, her friends, they would all have to carry on without her.

Sakura's determination wavered slightly at the thought.

Naruto's life was coming at the expense of hers. Yes, it sounded like something from a fairy tale. It seemed fitting that she would save her best friend's life with the greatest sacrifice possible. But that sacrifice was coming with many consequences. However, she resolved herself as she thought of Naruto, alive and happy once more. Her eyes shifted away from her window, back to her textbooks and her scrolls. She had to study if she were to get this right.

* * *

The third and final night of Sasuke's vigil had Sakura in a quiet terror.

She had figured out that Sasuke left Naruto's coffin twenty minutes before midnight, whether it was to catch a few minutes of sleep, something to eat, it didn't matter. He always returned exactly at twelve, not a minute sooner or later. Meaning, she had exactly twenty minutes to get this right.

Even now, as she stood in front of her mirror with small, cream colored envelopes in her hand, she found herself vainly going over her hair, her typical red Chinese-style shirt and pink apron skirt, her wedged shinobi sandals. Everything had to appear normal, or else people would begin to question her. Closing her eyes, she sighed once more before turning to take in her bedroom, one last time. Before she could change her decision, though, she exited the room and shut the door behind her.

Going downstairs, she found neither of her parents at home; which made her task much easier. Raising her hand, Sakura's eyes skimmed over the envelopes until she found the one addressed to her parents, which she laid on the kitchen table, by a small glass vase with cherry blossom petals floating in crystal clear water. She then went to the front door, sighing as she went outside and swiftly stuffing the remaining envelopes in her weapons pouch that was tied to her waist, and proceeded down her street for the last time.

* * *

She had delivered each envelope to their respective recipients without issue, and Sakura found herself with ten minutes to go before Sasuke left his post. She had been sitting on a bench by the clearing, discreetly watching Sasuke as the boy stood where she had last seen him, at the head of the coffin. He didn't seem to notice her as she stared at the flickering candles, breathing in the scent of the flowers even from the distance she was from them.

Her senses seemed heightened to her; perhaps it was her body, knowing it was about to die, taking in everything it could before it ceased to function. She suddenly found herself wishing she could have eaten her favorite dish once more, argued with Ino or gone flower-picking with Hinata, hugged her parents one last time. Tears welled in her eyes as she thought of all things she wished she could have done before now, all the things she hadn't done, everything she had yet to do. She wasn't ready to die yet!

Sakura's eyes trailed over to Naruto's coffin when she noticed that Sasuke was making to leave. The raven turned towards the Hokage Tower, striding towards it before opening the set of double doors and vanishing into the building. Sakura sucked in a deep breath, then stood, clenching her fists at her sides and gritting her teeth. She _had_ to do this. She _had_ to.

For Naruto.

Stepping forward, she began to slowly make her way towards the coffin. She could hear every step she took, smell everything that made Konoha what it was; fire and nature and life. Her vision was narrowed in on Naruto, every single step until she was finally in front of the coffin.

Sakura smiled as she looked down at Naruto's emotionless face, bringing her palms over her chest.

Her chakra blossomed slowly over her gloved hands, illuminating Naruto's face with a soft green glow as she laughed quietly. "...I remember when you used to get so mad when Sasuke-kun would beat you in the Academy," she murmured, as she pushed her chakra into Naruto's lifeless form. "You would storm out of class yelling, and come back the next day determined to beat him..." Sakura's vision began to dim as the distant beat of a heart began to throb under her fingertips.

"You chased me so damn relentlessly," she continued softly. "All those times you tried to ask me out and I said no...you know, I really should have said yes...at least once..." the heartbeat Sakura felt grew stronger, and she gasped slightly as she felt her own falter. It was as if water were filling her chest. Her body was growing heavier, limper, by the second. "Is this what it's like to die, Naruto?" Sakura asked, pushing her chakra harder. She smiled again.

"It isn't so bad I guess..."

She heard a pair of doors opening distantly in front of her, soon followed by a yell. Out of anger, shock, or both, Sakura couldn't tell. She exhaled once more, whispering as a pair of footsteps quickly approached...

"Live."

Sakura Haruno's body crumpled to the ground as Naruto Uzumaki's eyes blinked open, her life ending as his began once more...


	2. Epilogue-When You leave them Behind

Hi everyone!

By popular demand, I've decided to write an epilogue to this (originally intended to be) one-shot. Wow, you guys have a way of changing my mind about one-shots! I know I kinda wrote Sasuke to be a dick previously...I intended it to be that way, I imagined him to be the person who lashes out at everything when he grieves. (I mean, he wants to blow up a whole village because he killed his brother and figured out his brother did all this stuff to protect him and ugh, just thinking about it gives me a headache)

So here's the epilogue! I hope you enjoy :)

-Astridelta 2/28/14

* * *

Sasuke Uchiha never intended for things to turn out this way.

He never wanted friends. He never wanted loyalty, companionship; he just wanted to be alone. Because when you're alone, nothing can hurt you. That was his reasoning. If he never cared about anyone, he wouldn't be hurting, grieving as he is now. He wouldn't feel the utter hatred he did for the place of his birth that he does now. He wouldn't have to watch his comrade die in front of him.

He wouldn't feel so furious that he couldn't save _him_.

* * *

Time passes in an agonizingly slow blur when one is grieving; that, Sasuke understood. Memories became mixed into one painful vortex of emotions, tossing him around and around without ceasing as he begged for an escape from his own mind. He felt as though he were locked in a prison, screaming against the bars keeping him inside this emotionless mask he wore on the outside to placate the masses, to experience some sort of normalcy in his now chaotic life.

The grey clouds above his head rolled across the sky in the heavy winds that battered the land below, buildings groaning as their structures combated the offending forces. People dressed in swathes of black milled about in the roads, collars turned up and heads bowed against the forces of nature as they made their way towards a common destination, like worshippers to a temple; and at the head, a fallen king lay in a black wooden coffin, glistening with the light of the candles on the ground.

Sasuke's onyx eyes swept over the crowds in front of him, his arms crossed behind his stiff back as he observed the scene unfold in front of his gaze. Soft murmurs managed to rise above the wind, carried to his ears with whispers of grief and condolences to himself. Sasuke hated it. Why would they feel sorry for him? He didn't need anyone's pity. He only needed the friendship of the one laying dead at his left hand. And that fact was what sickened him the most.

Sasuke had not once glanced at the corpse at his side, the one so carefully preserved by the Hokage's hand, in the fear of this reality becoming true. He was afraid, afraid that if he were to finally look at _him_, see his still features and his pale skin, all of this would become so painfully real that he was unsure if he could keep himself from wailing at the pain of his loss.

The sea of black in front of him wove around itself like ants; people coming close to catch a glimpse of their dead hero, some weeping, others with stone-like expressions and more still simply staring dully. Occasionally someone would approach Sasuke, offer him a hand or a hug, none of which he accepted. A nod at best, was what he gave in acknowledgement to the peoples' advances, before they slunk back to the mass with shoulders hunched in grief.

For three days Sasuke did this. Three days, three nights, he stood watch over Naruto's body, only leaving for twenty minutes every night, granting himself some solace to weep. When he disappeared into the Tower behind the memorial site, he found himself openly crying; angry, vicious tears as he clenched his fists and grit his teeth, crouching and ripping at his hair as he constantly asked himself _why it couldn't have been me._

On the third night, however, it all changed.

As a small clock hanging on the wall chimed midnight, Sasuke opened the double doors, tired, tear-logged eyes roaming over the empty roads stretching in front of him. But when he saw a soft green light illuminating in front of the black coffin, he blinked, thinking his mind was finally succumbing to the demands of sleep. But then he saw the unmistakeable head of pink hair standing in front of the coffin.

Sasuke's mouth fell open slightly, fury filling him as he wondered what could Sakura be doing to ruin his life even further. A vicious yell worked its way from Sasuke's throat and out of his mouth as he strode forward, slow at first, pace quickening until he was sprinting towards the coffin. He barely registered the feeling of Sakura's chakra fading as his eyes locked on her. She was whispering something, her mouth barely moving as her eyelids appeared to lower over her green eyes.

As he reached the coffin, he saw her body fall to the ground, heard the soft exhale of air from her lips while her hands slipped from the coffin, falling to her sides. Breathing heavily, Sasuke stared down at his teammate, unable to move as his mind tried to register what had transpired. He approached her body slowly, wary of her jolting up, before carefully kneeling next to her head. She didn't appear to be moving.

Reaching out, Sasuke pressed his index finger and his middle finger against the nape of her neck under where her jawbone disappeared behind her ear, trying to feel for a pulse. His black eyes widened when he felt nothing, just the faint warmth of her skin which was quickly fading away. Confusion swept his mind as he pulled his arm back and rubbed his palms over his face. He paused, however, as he heard small rustling coming from the coffin above.

His head rose just in time for him to witness a pale hand appear at the edge of the coffin.

The fingers were gripping the wood hard enough for the knuckles to turn a pale white, contrasting against its slightly tan skin. Sasuke found himself holding his breath as he rose, stepping back from Sakura's motionless body and his eyes locked on the coffin, on the figure inside of the coffin. And inside, he saw a sight he could hardly believe.

Naruto's eyes were _open_.

Sasuke's own eyes widened, as Naruto brought his hand from holding the edge of his coffin to above his face, bending his fingers and studying his own appendage. Sasuke exhaled quietly, his eyes darting down to Sakura's body before glancing back to Naruto. Was this a dream? Sasuke narrowed his eyes as he watched Naruto turn his palm over to look at the back of his hand.

"Naruto...?"

Sasuke clenched his teeth as the quiet spell was broken by his voice, like a bubble being popped, chaos felt as though it were about to ensue as Naruto's arm shot down, before he himself was sitting up fully and bringing to his hand to his head as if he were in pain. Naruto groaned quietly, clenching his eyes tight as Sasuke watched on in shock.

Then, however, Naruto's head turned, and he opened his eyes to lock gazes with Sasuke. The blonde's slightly cloudy stare seemed puzzled as Sasuke blinked. "You're alive?" Sasuke whispered. He still was not sure if this was a dream, or if it were real. He desperately hoped it were real; if this was a dream, it was a cruel one indeed, one he wasn't sure he could come away from intact.

Naruto's jaw clenched and unclenched; the boy seemed to be having trouble speaking. Sasuke couldn't blame him for that, he assumed. He watched, then, as Naruto nodded. The blond glanced around, his right hand lowering from his head to pick at the white sheet that covered his torso and his legs, before leaning forward and looking at the ground in front of the coffin he now sat it.

Sasuke watched Naruto's eyes widen as he pointed at Sakura's lifeless corpse.

The boy looked up, the fogginess of his gaze gone and replaced with a frantic expression as he pointed at Sakura. His mouth was moving, but no noise other than small gasps and whispers tumbled from his lips. Sasuke glanced at Sakura briefly before looking at Naruto again. "I don't know," he said flatly. Quite frankly, he didn't care. All he really cared about was Naruto had come back from the dead.

Naruto's eyes narrowed and he gestured harder towards Sakura, leaning over the edge of his coffin as footsteps swiftly approached Sasuke from behind. Turning, his eyes narrowed to peer into the gloom of the surrounding village. Finally, he noticed two forms hurrying towards where he stood and Naruto laid; Tsunade and Kakashi. The blonde woman was somehow still wearing her typical outfit, with the addition of small oval glasses resting on the bridge of her nose as she ran, while Kakashi wore a black turtleneck shirt and matching colored pants, making him much more difficult to make out in the darkness without the aid of his white hair.

Both adults came skidding to a halt in front of Sasuke, Tsunade holding her arm out in front of Kakashi as she stepped around Sasuke.

"...What happened here," Tsunade demanded. Sasuke turned slowly to see the Hokage staring at him with wide eyes. "...Pardon?" Sasuke said. He couldn't help the sarcastic edge to his tone as Tsunade glared at him. "Don't act dumb, Uchiha," the blonde woman said quietly. "Every Jonin in the village felt the chakra blast come from this area. The only reason I don't have every ANBU on hand here is because I assumed you could handle it. Now, I will repeat. _What happened_ _here_?"

Sasuke blinked. In all honesty, he had not felt any chakra blast at all. He opened his mouth to reply, but he cut his voice off as he felt a hand clasp on his shoulder. Turning his head to the left, he saw Kakashi standing next to him, his own gaze locked behind Tsunade. His lips seemed to twitch under the mask he donned. "Tsunade-sama," the man said quietly. Sasuke's eyebrow twitched ever so slightly when Kakashi did not remove his hand from his shoulder.

"I think you should turn around," Kakashi continued. Sasuke glanced back at Tsunade to see the blonde looking at the both of them with a curious expression. Then she turned. Sasuke smirked slightly when he heard a small, shocked gasp come from the woman. But his smile quickly faded when he heard her whisper.

"...Sakura...?"

Tsunade turned so fast, she appeared a blur even to Sasuke as he was pushed back. A fist gripped the front of his shirt while he was forced to sit on what seemed to be a bench. "What did you do?!" Tsunade's voice yelled. Sasuke forced his eyes to open, finding Tsunade less than three inches from his face, a vicious snarl curling her lips as she glared at him with tear-filled hazel eyes.

"What did you do, Uchiha," Tsunade continued. The woman was breathing heavily as he peered past her shoulder. Kakashi was kneeling down next to Sakura's corpse, checking for a pulse. Naruto was no-where to be found.

"I..."

Sasuke clenched his teeth as he looked back at Tsunade. "I didn't do anything," he muttered, "I left for approximately twenty minutes. When I came back, she was doing some sort of medical jutsu with Naruto's body, I've never seen anything like it. She was dead by the time I reached her." Tsunade's mouth opened, seemingly to accuse Sasuke of lying, as she was cut off by Kakashi's voice.

"...He is telling the truth, Hokage-sama."

Tsunade's grip on Sasuke's white shirt loosened as she craned her neck over her shoulder. Peering past her form, Sasuke saw Kakashi standing in front of Naruto's coffin, as well as Sakura's body. "...Explain, Kakashi," Tsunade demanded quietly. Her fingers tightened slightly once more as Sasuke struggled to free himself. He glared at the back of the blonde's head as Kakashi began to speak.

"On the mission to save Gaara-sama from the Akatsuki. We...by the time we had reached the Akatsuki's base of operations, they had already extracted Gaara-sama's bijuu, killing him. Lady Chiyo of the Sand...she used a forbidden jutsu that replenishes the majority of the deceased's chakra with the caster's. But it comes at the price of the user's own life..." Kakashi seemed to pause for breath. "A life for a life," he finished quietly.

Sasuke jerked back as Tsunade finally released his shirt, stepping away from him and towards where Kakashi stood; where Sakura laid dead. Glaring, he rubbed at a sore spot between his shoulder-blades before standing and slowly following the Hokage. The blonde woman stopped directly next to Kakashi, her head bowed as she seemingly took in the sight. "I know of that technique," she murmured, "...But I never would have thought Sakura would learn it. I had no intentions of teaching it to her."

Sasuke held back a snort of derision. As much as he had come to hate Sakura since Naruto's...death, he had to admit; the girl was a genius when she put her mind to it. And she had. She had put everything she had into figuring out how to revive Naruto. He almost felt...guilty. His head lowered slightly as he thought of the last words he had spoken to her.

_"Crying is not becoming of a shinobi. And it won't make me forgive you, either."_

He shook his head to clear his thoughts, then looked up. He saw Kakashi standing on the other side of the coffin now, bending down to peer into the basin. Tsunade was crouched in front of Sakura, green chakra glowing dimly over her left hand as she hovered it over the girl's body. Sasuke didn't dare to approach the older shinobi; he knew it was not the time for him to interfere with the two.

He watched, instead, as Kakashi's form slowly stood erect as he turned, his black eye trained on Sasuke's face while his left sharnigan eye remained closed.

"Where is Naruto?" the Jonin asked quietly. Tsunade's head rose from being bent low, examining Sakura's corpse, as she too fixed a stare on Sasuke. He blinked. "He was...in the coffin, last I saw him," he muttered. Kakashi glanced to the side. "He couldn't have gone far, if he left," Tsunade said. "Kakashi, go track him down and bring him to the hospital. Whatever Sakura did replenished Naruto's chakra. We don't know about the Kyuubi's yet."

Sasuke saw Kakashi nod before his image flickered and vanished. He remained silent as Tsunade continued to crouch in front of Sakura's body. Her chakra covered hands seemed to be forcibly stiffened as she hovered them over Sakura's head. Then, slowly, her chakra began to fade and the dim green light that had illuminated Sakura faded to the white wash of the moonlight. Tsunade remained crouched over Sakura for a few minutes as Sasuke watched her warily.

Finally, however, the Hokage stood to her full height, her shoulders stiffened as she sucked in a deep breath, then exhaled; her form seemed to sag, exhausted, as she turned to look at Sasuke with eyebrows lowered over her hazel eyes. "You may return home, Sasuke," the woman said quietly. "I must tend to this."

Sasuke refused to move as he watched Tsunade glance back at Sakura's body once more.

The woman seemed to wilt gradually while he stared at her. Eyes flicking briefly downward, he looked at Sakura's face; one could mistake her for sleeping if they ignored the unnatural paleness of her skin. Unlike her natural milky hue, her skin stood out like stark chalk against her pink hair. Sasuke swallowed uncomfortably before shaking his head.

He blinked when he heard someone approaching from behind. Turning his head, he saw Kakashi returning to the scene, his own shoulders sagging as his one open eye landed on Sasuke. The man nodded once in acknowledgement before stopping at Sasuke's side.

"He's secure at the hospital, Hokage-sama," the man reported quietly. Sasuke noticed no response from Tsunade as Kakashi seemed to glance at him.

"You...should go home Sasuke," Kakashi said, "get some rest. Something to eat...you need it."

Sasuke looked back at Tsunade and Sakura again. Then, without speaking a word, he turned and walked away from the memorial site; a place Naruto no longer belonged in.

* * *

For the fifth time this week, Sasuke sat quietly at Naruto's bedside.

The starch, clean white of the hospital room made Sasuke sick to his stomach, the groans of the ill and the wounded irritated him, and the whir of machinery made him want to rip the plugs out and set fire to them. But he remained, watching Naruto stare blankly at the white ceiling with his arms at his sides, not moving; simply existing.

Sasuke hated it.

Since his return, Naruto hadn't spoken a word to anyone. Not Tsunade, Kakashi, or even Sasuke. He simply lay, content with wasting away, refusing food and drink.

Sasuke had heard doctors and nurses speculating that his distaste of sustenance was the Kyuubi's doing; that the great demon was attempting to restore Naruto's body through chakra, not material substances. But he knew better. He saw the sorrow and the pain etched into Naruto's eyes like chiseled stone, he saw the questioning in the thin, never changing line of the boy's mouth.

He saw the guilt in the way Naruto clenched his fists and jaw, fighting the one emotion he seemed to want to express.

On these visits, Sasuke did not speak much. He never was one for words. Sometimes he brought books. On one occasion he had read to Naruto. He hadn't even finished one chapter before the light snoring in front of him indicated Naruto had fallen asleep. After that, Sasuke sat at Naruto's side, waiting for his teammate to _say_ something, do anything aside from stare up, lost in his own thoughts. He was supposed to be the brooding one, dammit!

Naruto shifted in front of Sasuke, drawing his attention to the boy. His teammate's mouth clenched slightly as his lips parted, tongue wetting his mouth before he returned to stillness. Sasuke felt his eyebrow twitch slightly.

"...Kakashi should be visiting today," he said, trying to hide his annoyance that was clearly seeping into his tone. "Unless he sleeps in again. Although he swore he wouldn't..."

Naruto showed no response. Sasuke grit his teeth.

"Sai should be coming too," he muttered, "Tsunade and Shizune too. They said you're fine enough to walk yesterday." Naruto showed no sign of acknowledging Sasuke other than blinking, eyes locked on the ceiling. Sasuke closed his eyes.

The low hum of the heart monitor was the only sound in the room as Sasuke felt his ire rise. Why couldn't Naruto do something, do anything, aside from wallow in sorrow?!

"...She didn't bring you back just so you could waste away."

Sasuke heard the words breathe past his lips in a soft whisper before he could stop them. However...the reaction from Naruto was instantaneous.

His teammate's entire form tensed, as his expression left the flat mask behind and was replaced by an angry, guilt-ridden intensity that Sasuke unconsciously shyed away from. Naruto's jaw was clenching and unclenching as Sasuke stared at him.

Sasuke grit his teeth as Naruto exhaled, before his expression faded back to the flat, blank slate of before. He had rarely felt this sort of rage; originally it was intended solely for Itachi. But now, oh now it was different.

"Fuck, Naruto, say something!"

The screen of the heart monitor shattered under Sasuke's fist as he stood, his chair landing with a hard crash against the wall behind him. Naruto didn't even flinch as Sasuke glared at him. His breath hissed past his teeth, like the low tone of angry bees, as he reached forward and grasped the collar of Naruto's shirt in his fist and jerked the other upward, off of the mattress, as he stared into Naruto's eyes; his teammate refused to even look at him in response.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Sasuke shouted, shaking Naruto lightly as the blonde continued to stare at Sasuke with unfocused eyes. "You're back, you're alive! What are you so-"

"She's dead because of me."

Sasuke cut off as, for the first time in five days, Naruto spoke. His voice was hoarse, and it looked as if it were physically painful for him to speak; his eyebrows were furrowed and his expression practically screamed he was uncomfortable. Sasuke blinked. "...Don't be ridiculous," he finally said, "You-"

"If I hadn't fucking...fucking died, Sasuke, she'd still be here!" Naruto yelled in response. His own hand reached up and clasped around Sasuke's wrist; he bit back a hiss of pain as the grip Naruto had tightened. "She didn't have to do that! She had no-one telling her to! It wasn't her fault I died!" Naruto continued, his breaths coming in short gasps between his words.

Sasuke glared back at Naruto. "She didn't heal you," he growled, "Thus, it is her fault, Naruto. Furthermore, it was her choice to do this! You had no say in it."

"Exactly!" Naruto said. The guilt in Naruto's eyes made Sasuke want to slap his teammate. "I had no say. And if I did I would have done everything I could have to make sure she didn't! She deserved to live, Sasuke! Don't you understand that?!"

Sasuke couldn't believe what he was hearing. Naruto was taking this all wrong!

"You deserve to live too, Naruto!" Sasuke shouted. Naruto's eyes narrowed at Sasuke. "I _died_, Sasuke," he hissed. "Dead people are meant to _stay_ dead!"

"So Gaara isn't supposed to be alive now, Naruto?" Sasuke asked in response. Naruto winced. "Is Gaara supposed to be dead right now? Is he?! Because according to you, dead poeple should remain dead.

"Sakura knew the repercussions of what she did, Naruto. She chose to do that, she chose to give you life," Sasuke finished. "And if you can't realize that, then you're more of an idiot than I thought."

The sound of the punch Naruto delivered to Sasuke's face reverberated around the room.

Reeling back, Sasuke let go of Naruto's shirt as his teammate let go of his wrist. Gripping his nose, he drew his hand away to find his fingers covered in blood as he glared at his teammate, who was subsequently returning the angry stare ten-fold.

"She should be alive right now," Naruto hissed, "You and her, you two should be alive. There was nothing she could do, Sasuke. Nothing she or the Kyuubi could do, dammit! If you're blaming her then fucking stop! She did everything she could!"

Naruto sucked in a breath. "If she fucking did this...because you made her feel guilty, Sasuke," he whispered. Sasuke waited for the sentence to finish, but Naruto never did.

He watched as Naruto slumped back onto his mattress, eyes staring hazily up at the ceiling, neither daring to say a word as the tension in the air thickened like thunderclouds. And for some reason, Sasuke felt...

Regretful.

He shook his head, hoping to dispel the thought as he focused back on Naruto. His teammate was visibly trembling, his fingers digging into the sheets and the mattress, as if he were to let go he would lose sense of everything. Sasuke's brow furrowed. He couldn't understand why Naruto felt so fucking guilty; it just made no sense. Naruto hadn't done anything. It was all _her_ fault.

It was all Sakura's fault that everything was falling apart.

* * *

The funeral was not nearly as long as Naruto's had been.

Partially because Sakura's family wished for a more private affair, in comparison to Naruto's three day display. A public memorial service had been held for those that wished to say their goodbyes, in the most ironic, and fitting place, for Sakura to be.

A cherry blossom field.

Even at the beginning of spring, when the wind was howling and rainstorms were frequent, the cherry blossom trees remained unbowed by the forces of nature, their pink petals scattering in the wind as people gathered under their branches, to the mahogany coffin that would house Sakura's body.

Sasuke had not attended the public service; he felt no need to waste his time on such an obvious fake display of grief; half the people there had never even known Sakura aside from her name and status as a medical-nin. Yet they felt the need to fall over each other and weep, mourning a loss that was honestly not too signifigant.

However, the private service, as well as the actual burial, were a different matter.

* * *

If he were to place an emotion to how he felt, Naruto would say he felt numb.

His eyes bore into the mirror in front of him, blankly taking in his appearance in the reflection. To be honest, he looked like shit. His hair was past its natural spikiness and now just simply looked horrendously knotted. His expression was flat, as it had been since he had left the hospital two days ago. The black shirt he wore was freshly pressed, smelling distinctly like Iruka's detergent; Naruto wouldn't be surprised. Iruka had been the one to deliver his mourning clothes to his apartment.

The black pants were also clean and without many wrinkles, but were missing the slight lavender scent his shirt bore. His typical black shinobi boots covered his feet.

Naruto glanced at his chest in the bathroom mirror. Two weeks. He winced. Two weeks since he had died. A twinge ran through the skin of his torso, causing him to cringe, despite knowing no wound existed there. Tsunade had told him herself this was just a ghost effect. He was feeling a wound that had long since healed over, his muscles and his skin however remembered the pain. He vaugely recalled the same effect happening to people who lost limbs.

As he looked back into his own eyes, Naruto could, without a doubt, say that he looked awful. Guilt flooded him as he stared into his eyes as he remembered something. A word whispered by dying lips, carrying to his ears as the voice faded forever.

_"Live."_

Naruto shook his head and turned away from the mirror, exiting his bathroom and shutting the door behind himself, before leaning on the wood and taking in the surprisingly cleansed apartment in front of him. Someone must have tidied up while he was away. Naruto narrowed his eyes. Probably Sasuke.

Sasuke.

Slight rage filled him as he thought of his raven-haired teammate. As well as shame.

He knew he was overreacting with his ire at the Uchiha. The boy had nothing to do with Sakura's...oblation, as far as he knew. He could tell Sasuke had been furious with Sakura; that much was obvious. Naruto could gather that his teammate blamed Sakura for his death, for reasons he couldn't fathom. But would Sakura really do this to appease Sasuke?

Naruto didn't know the answer.

A glance at the clock told him he had a half hour until he had to be at the Haruno's household. The private funeral would start there, where family and friends of Sakura would gather. Naruto knew plenty less people would be in attendance for the private service. Sakura would have hated a big spectacle, anyways.

He hadn't bothered to leave his bed once Tsunade had delivered him back his apartment two days ago, thus the placement of objects was unfamiliar to him. His stomach growled quietly, reminding him that he should probably eat before he left. His feet slowly shuffled him towards the small kitchen in the corner of his one room apartment; perhaps there were some ramen cups in the cupboard he had yet to eat.

However, when he had reached the cupboard and opened it, he found no ramen. Instead, he found a small, cream-colored envelope propped against the back of the space, hidden in the shadows. Naruto felt his eyebrow in confusion as he reached out for the small, rectangular paper and looked down at it, finding no marking on the partridge.

Flipping it over, he ran his finger under the sealed flaps of the envelope, breaking them apart and finding another piece of paper inside, and upon pulling it out, he found the white sheet folded into thirds. He unfolded it; as soon as his eyes handed on the handwriting inside, he reeled back as if he had been physically hit, eyes wide.

_Naruto,_

_If everything goes well, you should be reading this after I'm gone._

_It's weird, isn't it? How I'm saving your life, I mean. Normally you're the one protecting me._

_Tsunade__-sama or someone has probably already explained this to you. But five days ago (at least five days from when I write this) when you died, there was nothing I could do. The weapon you had been cut with, it had some sort of jutsu that halted the Kyuubi from healing you, and the poison on the blade prevented medical jutsu from knitting your skin together. I-there was nothing I could do._

_I felt so damn useless, you know? You're, you're my best friend, and I couldn't even save you. Even now I feel pathetic. _

_Sasuke-kun blames me, you know. And honestly, I think he's kind of right. I couldn't save you. But there was nothing I could do, dammit. Nothing! _

_So, here we are now. My final words to you. _

_I don't know what to say. I always thought I'd have more time, that I'd get to see you one more time, hear your annoying voice, and I never really thought about one of us dying so suddenly. You know, it's kind of funny, I really wished that I could have just had one more chance to see you. Just one more chance to hear you. _

_That sounds so cliché._

_I really wish it didn't have to come to this, Naruto. I really do. If I could have I would have saved you, just know that. I mean it when I say that. You're like a brother to me, and-_

_I love you. _

_So, this is it then. I need to go now. Sasuke-kun doesn't want me around your body, so I need to make this quick. I just want you to know that I'm doing this for myself, and I'm doing it to save you. This is what I want to happen Naruto. So please, do me one last favor._

_Please live. For me. Don't be sad, don't be angry, because this is what I want. I want you to live._

_And don't forget to get other food other than ramen, and make sure you keep doing your laundry because I'm not going to be able to do it for you, and don't antagonize Kakashi-sensei, and don't annoy Sasuke-kun any more than you already have, and for Kami's sake please stop teaching Konohamaru those stupid jutsus, and just please live for me. Please._

_Love- Sakura_

Naruto felt the warm liquid falling down his cheeks before he realized he was crying.

He raised his hand to wipe the liquid from his eyes so that he wouldn't blotch the small handwriting on the paper in his grasp; yet he noticed that there were slight disfigurations distorting the partridge and parts of the clean kanji. Sakura must have been crying as she wrote this. The mere thought broke Naruto's heart as he grit his teeth.

This wasn't _fucking fair._ They were supposed to be alive, Team Seven. Whole and happy once more, a _family_ again. But he _had_ to go and fuck it up. Naruto angrily slammed his fist down onto his countertop as he held in a yell of misery, cracking the faux marble surface and feeling splinters of rock entering the skin of his hand. However, the physical pain distracted him from the mental, and he was able to slow his breathing enough to be safe from hyperventilating and passing out.

Enraged tears still streaked down his scarred cheeks as his head bent low, the warm tinge of blood trickling down the outside of his hand as he raised it away from his countertop; the wounds had already healed, leaving just shards of faux marble stuck into his skin and trails of blood from before oozing down his arm.

"Why..." he whispered to himself, bending low and curling into himself, holding Sakura's letter close to his chest with his uninjured hand. "Why, dammit, why?..." Naruto's question trailed off, unanswered by the silence of his empty apartment, which seemed much darker and lonelier than ever before as rolling thunderclouds gathered outside.

* * *

Naruto sucked in a deep breath as wind stirred around him.

After having had cleaned his hand and wiped the tears from his eyes, he had thus left his apartment and opted to travel a route less crowded, skirting the outside of Konoha on his way to his final destination; the Haruno household. The small arch Naruto stood under seemed to contract, grow smaller as he stared at the door in front of him. He could hear voices murmuring on the other side of the wood, quiet and hushed. He swallowed nervously as he raised his fist to the door, knocking twice.

The voices immediately stopped, a pause in the orchestra as Naruto waited for someone to let him in. Footsteps were approaching on the other side of the wood, steadily becoming louder while he stood with baited breath. A click sounded as the handle of the door turned, then was pulled inward to reveal Ino. For once, she was dressed modestly, wearing the same attire as Naruto with her hair draped down over her shoulders, not up in its usual ponytail. She looked like she hadn't slept in days.

Her blue-green eyes locked onto Naruto's as they stared at each other. Past her shoulder, Naruto could see the small hallway that led further into the house, where more people stood, watching the duo silently. Naruto looked back to Ino to find her lip visibly trembling.

When neither showed they were willing to speak first, Naruto let out a sigh and forced a smile to his lips. "Hey, Ino," he said quietly. The girl seemed to flinch when Naruto spoke. For a moment, dread overcame him as he watched Ino hold back tears, thinking she was furious at him, angry, betrayed-

The thoughts of distress were cut off as Ino wrapped her arms fiercely around his neck, pulling him into a tight hug. Naruto felt confused; Ino rarely displayed a show of affection around him. His eyes locked on someone else's, further into the home; Choji. The larger boy smiled softly at Naruto before turning his back on the situation.

Naruto lowered his gaze back to Ino, who still held him in an embrace. He heard her sigh as she began to speak.

"Thank you," she said quietly. Naruto hesitated for a moment before returning the gesture. "For what?" he asked, lowering his voice so as not to disturb the slightly tense silence that pervated the room. "For coming...to this," Ino replied, pulling back and releasing Naruto from her hold. Naruto cracked his neck slightly.

"She...she would've been glad you're here," Ino continued. Naruto winced and bit the inside of his cheek, nodding.

"Well, if it isn't Zombie-Naruto, gracing us from the dead with his presence."

Naruto scowled as a new voice joined the conversation. "Stuff it Kiba," he growled as the brunette approached. The other boy was smiling mischievously, the fang tattoos on his cheeks crunched slightly. However, his smile did not reach his eyes, which were duller and lacking in the gleefulness his voice suggested.

Kiba held his hands up in a surrendering gesture as Naruto glared him down. Ino stepped aside, laughing quietly before turning and leaving Naruto to enter the home and shut the door behind himself. Once Naruto had turned back to face Kiba, he found himself in another embrace, Kiba's hand hitting his back lightly twice.

"I'm sorry 'bout...what happened," the other murmured. Naruto glanced at the wall then, noticing a small framed picture hanging on a nail; the picture inside showed Sakura standing in between her parents, wearing the typical green Jonin vest and smiling at the camera as her parents stood on either side of her, following suit. Naruto swallowed uncomfortably before pushing Kiba away, offering a smile and a nod at the other before stepping around him, walking further into the home.

As he paused in the kitchen, a quick glance around showed most of the original Konoha 11 were present; with the exception of...Sakura...and-

"Has anyone seen Sasuke?" Neji called quietly, gaining everyone's attention as he stood from where he was seated at the kitchen table. The Hyuuga offered Naruto a small nod when he noticed the blonde staring at him before returning his attention the the group at large. Naruto noticed everyone shake their head, with the exception of Lee, who said quietly "no", his large, unusually red and damp eyes locked on the floor below his feet.

Naruto felt a twinge of rage and annoyance at his teammate; Sasuke could at least have the decency to show up and pay his respects, couldn't he?! He wasn't this much of an ass, right?

He noticed the group around him seemed to be having similar thoughts; Sai had a slight scowl on his face, while Shikamaru's expression was simply stony, hard and unforgiving as he glared at the floor. Ino looked disappointed.

"Okay..." Neji said quietly, looking at the table where his hands were upholding the weight he bore on them, "Naruto, the Harunos already left for the...ceremony. We were just waiting on you and Sasuke to show up but...if we wait any longer we will miss the service."

"I know it'd be nice to have...all of Team Seven there," TenTen added on; Naruto noticed her hesitate when she alluded to Team Seven being whole. "But we can't afford to wait for the Uchiha anymore," Shikamaru finished, his voice carrying a hint of dry distate when he addressed Sasuke.

Naruto swallowed, then nodded. If Sasuke wanted to be a prick and not go to his own teammate's funeral, that wasn't his problem. He noticed Sai get up and go to stand next to him; then he felt the stares on him.

Everyone was staring at him, eyes locked on his face as he glanced around.

"We, we know you d-didn't do any-t-thing wrong," Hinata said softly, from her position in front of Naruto. Her lavender eyes were locked with Naruto's, her gaze unwavering even with the tears that filled her vision. "U-um..we're g-glad you're back, you k-know," she continued as Naruto held back a wince. He clenched his teeth slightly and nodded, noticing everyone else nodding in agreement with Hinata.

He couldn't take it anymore. Being in this house, in the place where Sakura lived-had once lived, it was getting to be too much for him. The air felt heavier in his lungs, as he turned sharply towards the front door with a quiet, wordless mutter. The sounds of footsteps behind alerted him he was not alone in leaving the home.

* * *

Naruto shook his head as a cherry blossom petal blew into his face, knocking the foliage aside and continuing his painful stride forward. Rows of light wood chairs were set up on either side of him, lining a dirt path that led forward towards a fork in the stretch; and in the middle, the mahogany coffin that he had dreaded seeing ever since he had learned of what Sakura had done.

People he did not recognize sat in the chairs he saw, most likely Sakura's family and friends of such. From his limited view from where he walked in the middle of the Konoha 11, he saw most of the strangers crying softly or staring blankly ahead of themselves, eyes unfocused as they were lost in their own thoughts.

Someone poked his back, and he craned his head over his shoulder to see Choji nodding over at Lee, who was walking at his left. The boy was trembling, shoulders shaking and his steps uncertain. Naruto felt sorry for Lee; the boy was probably even worse of a wreck than he was. Reaching out, he placed his hand on Lee's shoulder, causing the other to startle in surprise and glance up at Naruto, who nodded once and rubbed Lee's shoulder. The boy smiled before returning his attention up front.

Two people were approaching the group, Naruto noticed. His heart instantly sunk even lower than it already was when he saw who they were.

Sakura's parents appeared as though they hadn't slept in days. Her mother's eyes were bloodshot, her light brown hair sticking up in some places, as if she had run a brush quickly through it but not bothered to smooth it down. Her black dress brushed the ground ever so slightly as she walked. Sakura's father wore a black shirt and pants, his star-shaped hair still in place; his mustache looked ungroomed, however.

Naruto wanted nothing more to sink into the ground as the couple approached. As it was, his shoulders became hunched and he shivered as the wind picked up around the small group, which paused suddenly as Sakura's parents drew nearer.

From the gap he could see in between Neji, Shikamaru, and Sai, he saw Sakura's father saying something to Neji and pointing towards the first two row of chairs, each holding five chairs each. Neji nodded, then went to sit in the second row, as far from the path as possible, with the others filing in after. Naruto's heart was racing as the group dwindled around him. This was so unfair. If he had to face them-

"Naruto.."

Naruto froze as a hand was placed on his shoulder.

Turning, he broke the grasp and found himself face to face with Sakura's parents. Guilt overcame Naruto and he grit his teeth in an attempt to keep tears from spilling onto his cheeks. Sakura's mother looked sympathetic as she looked at him. "...You're a good kid, you know that?" Sakura's father said softly. Naruto blinked in surprise.

"She..really loved you, you know," the man continued. Naruto glanced at the ground; he didn't know what to say. Even if he did, he probably wouldn't have been able to speak; his throat was tightening by the second. "When you...died, she was devastated," Sakura's mother said. Her voice warbled slightly, and Naruto noticed she was forcing herself to look him in the eye.

"She didn't eat, she didn't sleep, she just...existed. She was miserable."

A twinge of recognition hit Naruto as he realized that was exactly what he had been doing for the past week.

"I think she blamed herself for your death," Sakura's father said, "Even though we all knew it wasn't her fault, she beat herself up over it. She really..." Sakura's father trailed off, his voice becoming hoarser. "She really cared about you," Sakura's mother finished for the man, who was staring at the ground, his upper lip trembling. She wrapped her arm around her husband's shoulders while Naruto looked on, feeling so guilty he wished he could just will Sakura back to life, to make it all better...

A few moments of silence filled the space between the three of them, the cherry blossom petals from above tumbling down as the wind picked up slightly before dying down once more.

"...You know, Naruto..."

Naruto glanced at Sakura's father as he began to speak. His eyes were locked on Naruto's even as the blonde trembled, desperately fighting off the angry tears he wanted to shed.

"We don't blame you."

Sakura's mother spoke the words Naruto hadn't realized he had needed to hear. He glanced at the woman and saw her looking at him as well, a small smile on her face. "We're proud of her, in a way," Sakura's father said. He chuckled. "This...it was all very selfless of her. And while we are...grieving, it's a comforting thought to know she didn't die in vain." The man stepped forward, towards Naruto, to clasp his hand on the blonde's shoulder.

"Thank you for being such a good friend to her," he said quietly.

Naruto blinked again. He felt something wet trickle down his cheek; and cursed himself for not being able to hold his emotions in any better. Raising a hand to his face, he wiped a tear away from his skin and nodded, smiling back at Sakura's father, who then gestured towards the two empty seats at Naruto's right, silently telling Naruto to sit. He complied, sliding into the chair next to Sai, who's fists were loosely clenched, resting on his thighs as he stared at the coffin in front of them.

Naruto glanced at the mahogany coffin as well, letting out a shaky breath as he closed his eyes. He could barely hear anything over the wind that blew around them; good. He wouldn't have to hear the testimonies of others about her. Sakura.

Even thinking her name sent a shaking sense of guilt through his mind that made him just want to run and never look back.

The memorial went by without Naruto noticing, listening to but not hearing the various people come up and speak about the fallen kunochi. He hoped, prayed even, that he wouldn't have to go up and speak. He would lose his composure, he'd break down in front of everyone-

A weight settling next to him had him glancing over to his left.

Sasuke had actually shown up.

He too wore the black shirt and pants most people were wearing, his hair combed and just simply appearing clean. Naruto stared at his teammate. He supposed, it was better for Sasuke to show up late, rather than not at all.

Sasuke let out a sigh, then glanced at Naruto.

He scowled at the other in return.

"Nice of you to show up," he muttered. Sasuke turned his head, looking back forward, his mouth in a thin line.

Neither spoke as the memorial concluded, drawing ever closer to the final moment of Sakura's burial.

* * *

Sasuke hadn't expected to go to the funeral.

He had fully thought he wouldn't go; why should he? Sakura didn't mean too much to him. She was his teammate, nothing more-

Unless she was something more.

Sasuke refused to think that way. She wasn't any more than a teammate. Certainly not what Naruto thought of her as.

A sister.

Sasuke sat in the darkened living room of the long-since empty Uchiha mansion, staring out of the floor-length windows to the overgrown gardens outside, pondering the thought despite telling himself he didn't wish to.

His eyes roamed over the wall that bordered the courtyard outside, the faded Uchiha fan a faded crimson and white stain on the concrete barrier staring him down with scrutinizing memories that threatened to push Sasuke even further into the darkness of his mind.

He found himself, moments later, staring out at where his mother's rose garden had been, now a tangled mass of overgrown weeds and dying roses, reaching for the sun that couldn't reach them in the shadow of the wall. White and red roses alike were covering the ground under the wall, their colors dulled by the shadow cast by the barrier. Yet, Sasuke could still make out one rose that stood out from the others.

A pink rose, stretching out from the shadow, with its pink petals spreading out under the light of the sun. It was smaller than the rest, a runt compared to the majestic red and white flowers it had strayed from, yet it was the only one out of all of the roses growing under the wall to reach the light. The others stayed, hidden in the darkness and cast under shadow. Sasuke swallowed uncomfortably, a sudden heavy feeling encroaching his throat.

He couldn't possibly be feeling guilty. That wasn't possible.

Was it?

_Crying is not becoming of a shinobi._

_And it won't make me forgive you, either._

Sasuke couldn't hold back a flinch as a memory flashed through his mind; water-stained cheeks and eyes the color of emeralds filled with tears, raw grief and anguish in the stare of a girl who had long since lost her young-child's innocence to the stark pain of loss and the death of comrades.

He shook his head to attempt to clear the thoughts; to no avail.

Continuously the images pervaded his the backs of his closed eyelids as his head lowered. Blood pooling from the chest of a boy, blue eyes closing forevermore; eyes the color of spring frantically scanning, hands hovering and fingers shaking. Black coffins and whispered condolences. Heavy pain, dark skies; hair the color of blossom trees and green eyes dimming, blue eyes opening and guilt etched onto the face of a boy marked to die.

Sasuke let out a harsh gasp, his hand reaching to clench around the front of his shirt. Why did it hurt so damn much? _Why?_

It wasn't fair, it truely wasn't.

He smirked lightly to himself. Sakura could really royally fuck things up, couldn't she.

Another wince and the blink of his eyes had him recalling another memory; the first days of his return to Konoha and the subsequent, begruding integration back into society.

Contrary to what people would think, it was not Naruto who had first visited Sasuke's darkened family mansion, heavily guarded by the ANBU Black Ops to ensure he attempted no escape. Chakra restricted, hands bound and vision dimmed to near blindness, Sasuke had barely any reason to live other than hope to destroy Konoha later on in the future.

On a day of sheer boredom, she had arrived.

Sakura, bearing a small basket of tomatoes hand-picked from Konoha's public garden, standing in the doorway of a dark kitchen. The mother-like gesture had, at the time, went over Sasuke's head. But now he found himself slightly wishing he had been slightly more welcoming to his teammate in the days following his incarceration back into Konoha.

A shaky breath leaving his lips, Sasuke opened his eyes and shook his head. No, he shouldn't have just been more open at that time alone; in the time he had known Sakura, he found himself slightly...regretful that he had not confided deeper trust into the rosette.

This thought alone was what made Sasuke make the final decision to attend Sakura's funeral.

* * *

Grief passed, the clouds faded, and the sun shone once more on Konoha as spring heralded new life and fresh starts. But for the two remaining members of the original Team Seven, the season was far from joyful.

Despite everything, Naruto still found himself slightly blaming himself for Sakura Haruno's death, constantly wishing and wondering if he had done something different, none of this would have happened. He wouldn't have died, Sakura would still be here, and they could be happy.

Sasuke, no matter how hard he tried to forget, still felt the guilt of expressing such apathy and anger towards Sakura in the final words he had spoken to her. With his hardened nature and his cold personality, he found it hard to think of another way he would have approached her, considering he had blamed her for Naruto's death.

But time would move on, life would continue. The earth would keep turning. No amount of wishing, or blaming, or grieving, would bring Sakura back; a lesson everyone had known, but one retaught nevertheless. However, Sakura's sacrifice was not in vain.

Nothing she had done was in vain. In the time that she had lived, Sakura Haruno had truely blossomed into a beautiful flower, which had wilted before her time was over.


End file.
